Postmockingjay: Katniss and Peeta's life
by letterstokatniss
Summary: It's several years after Mockingjay ends and Peeta and Katniss have grown back together. This story takes place on Katniss' birthday and Peeta has a surprise for her. Note: I did make Katniss a bit more friendly
1. Chapter 1

Day: May 8th

Year: 3254

I woke up at dawn, just like any other day and slowly slipped out of Peeta's heavy arms. It's hard to get out of his grip; usually he wakes up from the instant lack of warmth in his arms or he is gripping on too hard for me to squirm out. He must unconsciously know that I'm trying to get some privacy, he'll let me have anything on my birthday. I'm officially 24. Last year, he tried to get in contact with Gale to surprise me and have him visit 12 on my birthday. However, secrets aren't best kept between us and I stopped Peeta before he could call the number the Capitol gave him. It's been a few years but I don't think it would be fair to Gale. I made a permanent decision when choosing Peeta. If Gale were to visit, nothing would be the same. Our friendship was based on the fact that we needed someone strong to lean on. Now there is no need for that.

As I walk down the stairs, I begin to think of what Gale and I would have in common but am interrupted by the decorations downstairs. Peeta must've put them up while I was sleeping last night. There were fresh raisin muffins on the table, below a banner that was intricately painted like a forest where the trees spelled, "Happy Birthday". Years ago I would've barely let a smile escape on my lips but I don't try to hide my happiness anymore since it was a rarity. Peeta and I may love each other, but nightmares and trauma has gotten in the way of a normal, happy life. I take out a piece of paper and a pen from a nearby drawer and write,

_Peeta,_

_I'm going out for a while._

_Thank you for the muffins_

_and the beautiful banner._

_I love you,_

_K_

I place the note next to the muffins, grab my dads hunting jacket, and escape out the door. I started for the forest. The fences were replaced with smaller wooden fences whose only purpose was to keep animals out. I decided to keep it a short trip, the woods used to be my safe haven but there was nothing to keep me safe from anymore. I walked to the tree where I used to store my bow and arrows. Sometimes I keep a set of them still in the trunk; on the occasion that I feel like hunting. I feel an urge to go to the pond my father showed me when I was younger.

After miles of losing myself in the mood of the forest I come across the pond. I sit on a rock, take off my shoes and nibble at the muffin Peeta made for me. The coldness of the water healed my aching feet. Even though I have gone to the forest many times in the past years, I haven't gone to the pond since I shot propos with Gale and I wasn't used to this vigor anymore. Anyways, I thought I said goodbye to this place and after Prim's death and my mother's absence; the last thing I wanted to be reminded of was my dead father. Family has been a word I try to never use let alone think about. I loved my family more than anyone and now they're gone. It was too hard to think about them. It would be easier to forget the idea of a family if Peeta wasn't so eager to have one.

Oh shoot- Peeta. He'll be up and second now. I shove my wet feet into my shoes and run back home. By the time I get there my feet are burn with every step I take and sweat is dripping down my back. I slow my pace down to a jog when I get back to the fence and take a quick detour through the town. There isn't much yet but there is a single street with a handful of shops. The store Peeta always stops by is open so I go in and look around really quick. I go straight to the paints and grab an orange which matched the sunset on the night before the Quarter Quell. Yes, it is _my_ birthday but I will buy my boyfriend a present if I want to.

I quickly pay for the paint and walk back to what used to be known as the Victors Village. Now some of the families that took refuge in 13 live in the empty houses along myself, Peeta and Haymitch. Peeta moved into my house a year after I returned; neither of us needed an entire house to ourselves anymore. Haymitch houses Greasy Sae and her granddaughter. I made a deal with them that if they could try to keep him as sober as they could, they would get Peeta's handmade bread every week. We may be out from under the Capitol's power but the townspeople still have to trade to keep alive.

As I come up to the door I can smell the bread that Peeta has just taken out of the oven. I open the door and Peeta's smiling face comes our from the kitchen, "Happy Birthday, Katniss!". He walks over with the note in hand and adds, "I love you too."

I get on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss and smile, "Thank you, I have a little something for you.."

"Katniss!", he laughs, "You know you're only supposed to _receive_ presents on your birthday not give them, right?"

"I know, I just felt bad because I knew I wasn't going to be home when you woke up and I knew that would frighten you!"

"Well thank you, I'm only going to keep it because I know you like my sunset paintings the best. And because I love you."

It's true. As the years have gone by, my reactions to his paintings have lessened. The pain is still there in the memories but there is something comforting about his sunsets. Not only are they his favorite but they remind me of that day on the roof. The day I really fell in love with Peeta, the only person who refuses to leave me despite his brain being hijacked. They also remind me of a time where my sister was alive. Beautiful Prim who stole my heart the moment she was born. So I go take a quick shower and put on a nice dress that Cinna had designed for me long ago. Cinna who was gone too. I braid my hair in two braids for Peeta and sit on my bed. Prim would've been so happy to see me on my birthday. She would help Peeta with the decorations around the house and make sure my blistered feet were attended to. A tear escapes down my face. After years of mourning over my sister I still have tears to cry. Prim would've been 20 now. Would've already been married off. I stop myself right there. Peeta was waiting for me downstairs and I couldn't let him see my crying. Years after the Hunger Games and we're still concerned about protecting one another. Now mostly protecting each others feelings.

I clear my tears and check my eyes in the mirror. The girl staring back to me isn't the same girl from 8 years ago. Eight years ago there would've been bags under my eyes with dirt glued to my hair. Now my skin was clearer and my hair was smooth. There was one thing that hadn't changed, the darkness of my eyes. There was a new light to it; something only Peeta could give me. However, underneath there was still pain. The kind of trauma we've endured never leaves you. I turned from the mirror and headed downstairs. Peeta was in the kitchen preparing lunch. Of course he was making lamb stew. He'd do anything to please me. I crept up behind him and put my arms around him. He turned and smiled. "So what next birthday girl?"

"Do you want to visit Haymitch with me?"

"Sure, let me just turn off the stove." Peeta put the stew in a bowl, "We'll eat when we get back?"

"Yes, it should be a quick visit."

We walk next door and I pound on the door. Greasy Sae's granddaughter answered the door, "Katniss! Peeta! Hi! Are you here for my grandma or Haymitch?"

"Haymitch," I reply, "Is he sober?"

"Of course not. Nothing we do works."

"Is he asleep?"

"Yes. Do you want me to wake him up for you?" "No, it's fine. Thanks." The last thing I want is a hung-over Haymitch. We leave and head back to the house to eat. "Well that was shorter than I expected."

"I wish we could do something to help him." Peeta says.

"Me too. But he's too far. There's nothing we can do for him." We sit and eat the stew with fresh bread and a juice that we picked up from the market the day before.

"How was the forest this morning?" Peeta questions.

"It was nice. I went to the pond my father used to take me to when I was younger." I paused for a second. "Do you want to visit it?"

"That would be nice. Do you want to go today?"

"It's only noon, we can make it and have time to relax. Maybe I can teach you to swim! You probably don't remember from the Quarter Quell" The second I bring up the Quarter Quell I see Peeta fighting back a memory. How did I let that slip? We try to avoid topics that cause our nightmares at night. All I can do is wait for it to pass. This one was quick, only 15 seconds. Peeta regains control and looks at me laughs. "Again with the giving on your birthday! Are you sure you want to reteach me how to swim?"

"Yes, I can cross of 'Peeta drowning' from the list of my nightmares!" I say lightly. I can't cross off Peeta's permanent memory damage from my list of nightmares.

"Well anything to help your nightmares." Peeta leans over and kisses me.

We clean up the table and put our shoes on. The walk is slower with Peeta. Even though I had lost some of my agility, Peeta didn't have much of it to begin with. After miles of walking, the pond came into sight. We got into underwear and waded.

"Ready?"

"If you are"

Peeta surprisingly remembered how to float and kick so I taught him the strokes. After an hour, he had the process down. We swam in the cool water and floated on our back and stared at the sky. After we were done in the water, we collected berries and sat on the rock I had found earlier. We just sat and watched the forest. It was silent for a few minutes until I spoke, "Peeta. Do you miss them? Your parents and your brothers. Does it keep you up at night?"

"Honestly? No. You know how my mom treated me. My dad I miss sometimes but I was never close to my brothers. Not like you and Prim."

Prim. I brushed my thoughts away and continued, "Then why do you want a family so much?"

"Katniss it doesn't have to do with filling a void in my life. I want kids with you because I love you and I think our children would be brave, smart and kind." He smiles as he adds, "Not to mention artistic."

I force a laugh, but the thought of having children has been an easy decision ever since I was able to think for myself. I avoid the topic, not wanting to break Peeta's heart on my birthday, and we started back for the house. The woods seemed different with Peeta beside me. Before, with Gale, we were one with nature. Now with Peeta I feel like a tourist cruising by and enjoying the scenery. I made a point to come out here more often, with Peeta too.

When we arrived back at the old Victors Village, it was getting dark. When we passed Haymitch's house only Greasy Sae's bedroom light was on so we didn't try to bother to see Haymitch. As we entered the house, Peeta ran into a spare room and came out with his hands behind his back, "Your turn for the presents now."

I let a smile spread across my lips. I usually hate presents but knowing it's from Peeta means it has meaning behind it.

"Guess which hand!" Peeta jokes.

I laugh, "Hm.. Right? Peeta pulls his right hand out from behind him which holds a rectangular box. I gingerly take it from his hand without removing my eyes from Peeta's. "This looks expensive Peeta..", I start to complain.

"You're worth it, Katniss. You know that."

I sigh and remove the bow from the box, then the wrapping paper. I look at the white box for a moment and then open the lid. Inside lay a pearl necklace with another locket. This time the picture was of my mother, father and Prim. My mouth dropped and I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down. Peeta immediately put his arms around me, "I'm sorry Katniss, I just thought…"

I interrupted, "No, Peeta, it's amazing. The best birthday present could ever hope for." I gave him a long kiss. "It's the perfect combination of the people I love."

"Are you sure?" Peeta questions, "I can exchange it." "No, I want it. There has to come a day where I can think of my family and be happy."

Peeta's face lightened up while I turned for the kitchen. His hand caught my arm. "Wait, I have one more gift for you. Although now I'm scared to give it to you."

"Why are you scared?"

"Because you didn't have the reaction I expected from the first gift."

"I promise I'm all better. I wasn't lying when I said I loved it." I smiled and gave him a kiss to prove it.

Peeta looked at me skeptically then softened his face. "I believe you. So, right or left?"

I laughed. "Considering I just chose right, left?"

Peeta pulled his left hand from behind him with another box in his hand. This time the box was square and Peeta got down on one knee. I knew what was happening but I couldn't move.

"Katniss. We've been through things that most couples shouldn't. I left you for a while but I'm fighting every day to get back to you 100%. I love you more than anyone has ever loved and I hope that you feel the same way about me. I would be honored if you agreed to marry me but I understand if you aren't ready for this yet. I love you . So will you marry me?"

I couldn't get any part of me to move, especially not my lips. After a few seconds I regained control of my body, "Yes. Yes, of course." Peeta stood up and I threw my arms tightly around him. Then, I thought of the first person I would want to tell. Prim. In this happy moment I tried not to let it get to me but as soon as we pulled away he noticed.

"Katniss I don't want to force you into marrying me. If you don't want to we don't have to."

"No! Of course I want to. But Peeta. Who will attend the wedding? Haymitch? Greasy Sae? Maybe Effie? There's no one left that we love that is here with us." I don't cry but I the pain has overcome my face. I see it has affected Peeta too.

"This is our chance to try to get our life back. Snow has been dead for a while but he still has control over our life. It'll always be there no matter how hard we try but we can always make his control less dominate."

"You're right." I extend my hand and Peeta pulls out the ring. It's a simple silver ring with no diamonds. I instantly loved it because it wasn't showy and I didn't have to worry about it getting caught on a tree or dishes. I looked up at Peeta. "It's perfect."

We spent the rest of the night on the couch not saying much because there wasn't anything that we needed or wanted to say. I thought about my family and the hike had tired him so he occasionally dowsed off. I woke him up and we moved to our bedroom. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth but ended up staring at the ring the whole time. The fact that Peeta knew me so well and made the decision easy. I crept into bed next to him and he turned to face me. "We're engaged. Real or not real?" I joke.

He laughed and said, "Real."


	2. Chapter 2

Day: June 16th

Year: 3255

I'm back in the arena. But there's only one other person with me- Prim. Prim's face is full of terror. Is she hyperventilating? There's 30 seconds left as I scan the arena. Surrounding the platforms is mud and it looks like something is moving in it. I can barely see the Cornucopia but I can see hundreds of empty platforms. The arena is full of mud. Prim is only a few platforms away. 10 seconds. "Prim! Don't move! I'll come to you!" After I grab Prim what do I do? Why are we the only one's here? Why are we here? The gong rings and I jump into the mud towards Prim. Immediately my feet are glued to the mud and I force one foot forward. Another. Another. "Prim!" Vines start crawling up my legs, rooting them into the ground. Prim's face drops and she jumps off the platform towards me. Her feet are instantly stuck in the mud. "Prim! No!" That's when I notice the hundreds of tributes running towards Prim. How are they running? The mud is instantly drying under their feet. This is a sick joke Snow. The vines continued up my legs and towards my chest. It pulls me to the ground. "Prim! Prim!" Screaming won't help. The tributes hold weapons and kill off one another as they run towards us. She looks at me but doesn't talk. There are no tears on her face. In fact, she looks brave. Then her face is covered by tributes. "Prim! Prim!" The vines have thorns and sweet smell disturbs my thoughts. Roses. They hold me down and the thorns dig into my skin as I scream for Prim, but the blood on the weapons confirm my worst nightmare. No! Come over here! Attack me! Kill me! Leave my sister alone! "Prim!"

My eyes open and meet Peeta's. His hands had shaken me awake. "It was only a dream, Katniss"

"Nightmare", I whisper.

"Nightmare." He puts his arms around me but they remind me of the vines.

I stand straight up, "Sorry I need to go downstairs." Before Peeta can reply, I push the covers off and rush downstairs. It must be early because it's still black outside. I go to the kitchen and get water and sit down at the table. The table where my mother, Prim and I spend countless meals.

I remember the day Peeta came over and taught her how to bake a cake and decorate it. I was gone for the day, it was my Sunday with Gale. But when I came home there as flour on the floor and frosting on the table. Prim's face was beaming. "Katniss, I baked a cake!". Peeta was long gone but he left a little cake for me. I leaned down to Prim, "Show me!". Prim walked me through the steps and mumbled through the ones she forgot. Somewhere I dozed off and woke up on the couch with a blanket on me. Peeta.. I looked out the window and it was finally light outside but the clanging in the kitchen got my attention. I walked over to the kitchen and saw Peeta getting breakfast ready.

"Good morning hon-"

"Will you teach me how to bake a cake?" I interrupted.

Peeta smiled, "Sure".


End file.
